Report: Nuggets trade two starters from last year to Wizards in huge deal

A major offseason for the Denver Nuggets is reportedly off to a big start.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting Denver is shipping two starters from last season out of town in Monte Morris and Will Barton. They’ll be headed to Washington and the Nuggets will get two players back in return.

Washington is finalizing a trade to acquire Denver's Will Barton and Monte Morris for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022

Morris filled in admirably for an injured Jamal Murray, but with Murray slated to come back from an ACL tear and the emergence of rookie Bones Hyland, there really wasn’t a good role for him moving forward. As far as Barton, his effort and shot selection were questionable, and this move was a long time coming.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.2 points and 3.4 rebounds for Washington in 77 games (all starts) a season ago. Smith averaged 8.6 points for the Wizards after coming over in a trade from Charlotte.

The Nuggets are obviously built around back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic, Murray and the oft-injured Michael Porter Jr. Morris no longer fit in those plans and Barton was just a flat out liability. We’ll see how “KCP” and Smith are used, but this is a big move from Calvin Booth and Michael Malone as the Nuggets begin to overhaul their roster.

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